Guitarist
Al di Meola
's second record as a leader is generally an explosive affair, although it does have a fair amount of variety. With
Jan Hammer
or
Barry Miles
on keyboards, electric bassist
Anthony Jackson
, drummer
Lenny White
(
Steve Gadd
takes his place on the
"Elegant Gypsy Suite"
), and percussionist
Mingo Lewis
on most of the selections,
di Meola
shows off his speedy and
rock
-ish
fusion
style. He was still a member of
Return to Forever
at the time and was a stronger guitarist than composer, but
did put a lot of thought into this music. The brief
"Lady of Rome, Sister of Brazil"
(an acoustic guitar solo) and
"Mediterranean Sundance"
(an acoustic duet with fellow guitarist
Paco de Lucia
) hints at
's future directions. A near classic in the
vein. ~ Scott Yanow